Composition, 1960

Composition, 1960

Marcelle Ferron, artist (b at Louiseville, Qué 29 Jan 1924; d at Montréal 18 Nov 2001). Sister of Jacques Ferron, she was an active participant in Les Automatistes, led by Paul-Émile Borduas, and has pursued an innovative artistic career, where her work in stained glass is noteworthy. After studying at the École du Meuble in Montréal and the École des beaux-arts in Québec City, Ferron became part of Les Automatistes, signing that association's polemical manifesto, Refus GlobalL. Her nonfigurative paintings were hung in all the major Automatiste exhibitions. She lived in Paris 1953-66 and continued to show in avant-garde exhibitions, including the 1961 Sao Paulo Biennial, where she won the silver medal.

The paintings of this dynamic artist became progressively more forceful. Vibrant colours and larger, fluid forms dominated the canvas. After 1964 her interest in light was effectively translated into a new medium - stained glass - examples of which can be seen in the Champ-de-Mars and Vendôme metro stations in Montréal. Ferron is represented in Canadian and foreign collections, including the Musee des Beaux Arts MOntreal. She was invested as a Grand Officer of the Order of Canada in 2000, the same year that the Musee d'art Contemporain held a restrospective of her work.